Student Blog
Classes

Summer In Full Swing ⟩
July 5, 2017, by Jessica P.

Admissions Classes Fieldwork International

Summer is in full swing and we have been busy keeping up with all of the exciting things happening at Chan!

Just a few weeks ago we had the pleasure of officially welcoming our class of 2019 to the Trojan family! Our new Trojan OTs are busy this summer taking courses in kinesiology, neuroscience, foundations of occupation and creativity, craft, and activity analysis.

Our continuing students have also been busy completing their Level II Fieldwork at various sites across the states.

One of our students, Ali, is completing her fieldwork at Coastside Pediatric Therapy Center. She loves learning about playing with a purpose and the science of development.

Two of our other students, Brynne and Kaitlyn, are completing their fieldwork at Assistance Dogs of Hawaii.

As a student ambassador I have been having a blast meeting all of our new and prospective students. Our Information Sessions are a great way for us to meet students and for them to learn more about our program.

This past weekend we also had the pleasure of welcoming 50 international OTs and OT students for our Summer Occupational Therapy Immersion (SOTI) Program. The participants will spend the next four weeks learning about OT in the United States, attend seminars, visit various OT sites, and of course enjoy all of the fun that Los Angeles has to offer!

With summer half way over, we are excited to fight on and enjoy the next few weeks full of sunshine and OT fun!

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Momma, I Made It! ⟩
June 27, 2017, by Erwin

Classes Community Getting Involved School/Life Balance

Wow! Where has the time gone? It really seems like yesterday that I was a newly-admitted student walking on campus for the first day of classes. My time at USC has been nothing short of amazing and I can honestly say that I’ve grown so much here — not only as a therapist, but as a person.

Looking back at my career at USC, here are my few words of wisdom:

Learn: Don’t study for the sake of passing a class. This isn’t undergrad anymore; what you’re learning in occupational therapy school is going to be your craft. So don’t come in with the mindset of, “I need to get an A in this class.” It’s much more important to really understand the material and knowing how to apply it rather than knowing how to get an A. After all, an employer isn’t going to ask what your GPA was — they’re going to care if you’re good at what you do.

Get involved: USC has so many opportunities to get involved and it would be unfortunate not to take advantage of these opportunities. Exploring different opportunities allows you to discover your passions and strengths, connect you to USC, foster community, and build your resume. While at USC, I tried to get involved as much as possible. I’ve developed my leadership skills, built life-long friendships, and opened doors that would not have been possible.

Enjoy yourself: Graduate school can be stressful. There will be papers, exam, and projects — you might even question, “is this really worth it?” Just relax! We always encourage our clients to live balanced lives and we have to practice what we preach. After all, a balanced life is a healthy life. So while in grad school, take time to take care of yourself, enjoy the company of others, and don’t stress out too much about your classes. Like I said before, employers aren’t concerned about your grades.

Although graduation has arrived, I know what I’ve learned at USC will carry on throughout my lifetime. Occupational therapy is such a beautiful and rewarding profession, and regardless if you pursue a degree at USC or another university, the profession will be nothing but good to you.

Before I go, I want to share with you some of the people and moments that have meant the most to me while at USC.

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Autism in the Community ⟩
February 13, 2017, by Kimmy

Classes Community What are OS/OT?

As prior blog posts have mentioned, the final semester of the program is full of unique electives. These classes range from lecture-based courses in advanced practice areas to research involvement to hands-on experiential opportunities. After reading over all of the course descriptions, I was most excited about this last category, which includes a class called Autism in the Community.

Despite keeping an open mind throughout the program, I have always wanted to work in pediatrics. I initially became interested in occupational therapy after learning about the role in schools helping children with developmental disabilities. Growing up, I used to visit the special education classroom during lunch to play games with the students in the class. It was a great way to relax during the day and become friends with new people!

Now, as I finish up my Master’s degree, I have found myself coming full circle. This past Friday, I visited a nonpublic school for children on the autism spectrum and spent two hours bonding with them over board games. To be clear, I played Connect 4 for graduate course credit — living the dream! Seriously, I had so much fun meeting this class of amazing students. Now that we have met the students, my classmates and I will each be assigned our own buddy from the special education classroom. In the coming weeks, we will take weekly field trips with our buddies to the California Science Center. Not only do these trips allow our buddies to learn and apply their science curriculum, but being in the community provides valuable opportunities to practice social skills and regulation. Reciprocally, my classmates and I gain hands-on experience working with adolescents with autism — in pretty much the most fun way possible. 😊

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Choosing Your Area of Practice ⟩
February 10, 2017, by Erwin

Classes What are OS/OT?

Many students come into the program expecting to practice in a specific area. And if you’re like 90% of most prospective occupational therapy students, it’d be a safe guess that you want to work in pediatrics. That was definitely me when I was applying to occupational therapy schools. I was so gung-ho about working with children; I did all my volunteer hours in a pediatric clinic and also worked with children with special needs. I was all-in on working with pediatrics . . . that is until I went to USC.

A misconception that some students have is that the program will train you to be an occupational therapists in a specific area of interest. However, that is not the case. USC, and all other occupational therapy programs, train you as a generalist. Thus, when you graduate, you are qualified to work in any area of occupational therapy. Here at USC, we have 3 practice immersions to assist students in developing mastery over the various domains of OT. Those immersions are adult rehabilitation, mental health, and pediatrics. It’s awesome because you get exposed to other areas of occupational therapy that you would have never thought you’d be interested in. In fact, the majority of students actually come into the program wanting to practice in one area, and end up loving something else by graduation!

While I thought I wanted to work in pediatrics when I started the program, today, I’m torn between adult rehabilitation and working in adolescent mental health. I enjoy the pace and the work that is done in physical rehabilitation, but I also enjoy the connections I made with clients during my fieldwork in adolescent mental health. It’s funny because I was so intimidated of both areas before entering the program, but now I can’t see myself doing anything else! Occupational therapy is such a wonderful and diverse profession that sometimes it’s hard to choose one area to work in. But on the flip-side, if you ever feel tired of working in one area, you can always mix it up and enter another area of practice!

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A visit to a OS minor course! ⟩
January 25, 2017, by Alyssa

Classes What are OS/OT?

Last week, I had the chance to visit Dr. Olga Solomon’s Occupational Science (OS) minor course: Occupational Foundations of Human-Animal Interaction! During my visit, I was able to learn how interacting with an animal can benefit your overall health and wellness. I mean . . . who would have thought that some quality time with a cute creature can boost your social-emotional, physiological, and physical well-being?! In addition to learning more about animal-assisted therapy, I also had the opportunity to meet Dr. Catherine Dorr, the executive director of Assistance Dogs International and an occupational therapist OTD, OTR/L who facilitates canine interventions within her clinical practice. During this classroom visit, I met Ford, who is pictured below with me.  Dr. Dorr shared her experiences with working with Ford and her passion for training other canines to serve as facility dogs.

In addition, the Office for Wellness and Health Promotion (OWHP) at USC has introduced its newest member, Professor Beau. Professor Beau is unlike other canines; he is the first, full-time wellness dog that USC has ever had! Fight on!

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